Milling-Induced "Turn-off" Luminescence in Copper Nanoclusters.

Atomically precise copper nanoclusters (NCs) attract research interest due to their intense photoluminescence, which enables their applications in photonics, optoelectronics, and sensing. Exploring these properties requires carefully designed clusters with atomic precision and a detailed understanding of their atom-specific luminescence properties. Here, we report two copper NCs, [Cu(MNA)(DPPE)] and [Cu(MNA-H)], shortly Cu and Cu, protected by 2-mercaptonicotinic acid (MNA-H) and 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (DPPE), showing "turn-off" mechanoresponsive luminescence.

Single Crystalline α-FeO Nanosheets with Improved PEC Performance for Water Splitting.

We report the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of a densely grown single crystalline hematite (α-FeO) nanosheet photoanode for water splitting. Unlike expensive ITO/FTO substrates, the sheets were grown on a piece of pure Fe through controlled thermal oxidation, which is a facile low cost and one-step synthesis route. The sheets grow with a widest surface parallel to basal plane (0001).

Carboranethiol-Protected Propeller-Shaped Photoresponsive Silver Nanomolecule.

We report the synthesis, structural characterization, and photophysical properties of a propeller-shaped Ag nanomolecule with six rotary arms, protected with -carborane-9-thiol (MCT) and triphenylphosphine (TPP) ligands. Structural analysis reveals that the nanomolecule has an Ag central icosahedral core with six directly connected silver atoms and two more silver atoms connected through three Ag-S-Ag bridging motifs. While 12 MCT ligands protect the core through metal-thiolate bonds in a 3-6-3-layered fashion, two TPP ligands solely protect the two bridging silver atoms.

Light-Activated Intercluster Conversion of an Atomically Precise Silver Nanocluster.

Noble metal nanoclusters protected with carboranes, a 12-vertex, nearly icosahedral boron-carbon framework system, have received immense attention due to their different physicochemical properties. We have synthesized -carborane-1,2-dithiol (CBDT) and triphenylphosphine (TPP) coprotected [Ag(CBDT)(TPP)] (shortly Ag) using a ligand-exchange induced structural transformation reaction starting from [AgH(TPP)] (shortly Ag). The formation of Ag was confirmed using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.